MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY
MARCH, 2008
(For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as
information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see
the Author's Note at the end of this summary.)
*************************************************************************
MARCH HIGHLIGHTS
--> Intense tropical cyclone strikes Mozambique while another stirs
central South Indian waters
--> Two cyclones in waters off Western Australia
*************************************************************************
WIKIPEDIA TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS
Short reports with satellite pictures and small-scale maps for all
tropical cyclones may be found at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacific_hurricane_season>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacific_typhoon_season>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_North_Indian_cyclone_season>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007-08_Southern_Hemisphere_tropical_cyclone_season>
For some storms more detailed reports have been prepared. In those cases
I will include the specific links in the reports for the applicable
tropical cyclones.
*************************************************************************
!!!!!!!!!! EXTRA FEATURE !!!!!!!!!!
WESTERN HEMISPHERE TROPICAL CYCLONE NAMES for 2008
Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and
Caribbean Sea are assigned names by the Tropical Prediction Center/
National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. A separate alphabetical
set of alternating male/female names is used each year with the name
of the first tropical storm beginning with the letter "A". Names are
repeated every six years. The names of hurricanes which cause a lot
of damage and/or fatalities are usually retired from the list with
another name of the same alphabetical rank and gender replacing it.
Following the 2007 season, the names Dean, Felix, and Noel were retired
and have been replaced with Dorian, Fernand, and Nestor, respectively.
The list of names for 2008 is the same one used during the slightly
below normal hurricane season of 2002 when twelve tropical cyclones
were named with four reaching hurricane intensity. The names of the
two major hurricanes of 2002, Isidore and Lili, were retired, primarily
from damage caused by the storms in Cuba and Mexico, and have been
replaced with the names Ike and Laura.
TPC/NHC also has warning responsibility for the Eastern North
Pacific Ocean from the west coast of Mexico out to longitude 140W.
Six separate alphabetical sets of names are used for this basin in
the same manner as in the Atlantic. Initially, the Eastern Pacific
name sets contained only 21 names, omitting "Q" and "U" and ending
with the letter "W", as in the Atlantic. When the active 1985 season
threatened to exhaust the list, the names Xina, York and Zelda were
drafted to accommodate any additional storms which might develop.
(Hurricane Xina was named in late October, 1985.) The decision was
made sometime in the latter 1980s to extend the list with these three
names in odd-numbered years, and to add the names Xavier, Yolanda and
Zeke in even-numbered years (to preserve the alternating gender
scheme). During the Northeast Pacific's year of record activity in
1992, all 24 names were allotted to tropical cyclones forming east of
140W, ending with Tropical Storm Zeke in late October. Had more storms
developed, they would have been named with the letters of the Greek
alphabet (Alpha, Beta, etc), which is also the backup plan for the
Atlantic basin in case more than 21 tropical storms develop in a single
season.
The list of names for this year was last used in 2002 when twelve
tropical cyclones were named. In 2002 Kenna was the name of a very
destructive hurricane which struck Mexico's west coast, so that name
was retired and replaced with Karina in this year's list.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center, located in Honolulu, has
tropical cyclone warning responsibility for that portion of the North
Pacific Ocean lying between longitudes 140W and 180. The majority of
the tropical storms and hurricanes seen in that region are visitors
from east of 140W, but on the average about one tropical storm forms
in the Central Pacific each year, and when this happens, the storm is
given a Hawaiian name. The list consists of four sets of twelve
names each, using only the letters of the Hawaiian alphabet. All the
names are used--the first storm to form in a given year is assigned
the next available name on the list. The last tropical cyclone named
by CPHC was Ioke in 2006.
Names for 2008 are (** indicates name has already been assigned):
ATLANTIC EASTERN PACIFIC CENTRAL PACIFIC
Arthur ** Laura Alma ** Marie Kika
Bertha ** Marco Boris ** Norbert Lana
Cristobal ** Nana Cristina ** Odile Maka
Dolly ** Omar Douglas ** Polo Neki
Edouard Paloma Elida ** Rachel Omeka
Fay Rene Fausto ** Simon Pewa
Gustav Sally Genevieve ** Trudy Unala
Hanna Teddy Hernan Vance Wali
Ike Vicky Iselle Winnie Ana
Josephine Wilfred Julio Xavier Ela
Kyle Karina Yolanda Halola
Lowell Zeke Iune
*************************************************************************
ACTIVITY BY BASINS
ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180
Activity for March: 1 tropical depression **
** - classified as a tropical depression by JMA only
Northwest Pacific Tropical Activity for March
---------------------------------------------
March was a quiet month in the Western North Pacific. JTWC did not
classify any system as a tropical depression. JMA classified a low-
pressure area as a weak tropical depression on 26 March. Since this
remained weak, I never compiled a track for it. As I've related earlier,
my computer's hard drive experienced a crash in mid-May and I lost all
files I'd saved, which would have included JMA's High Seas Bulletins and
JTWC's STWOs. However, relying on memory, I think this minor system
was quite short-lived and was located in the Philippine Sea to the east
of the southern Philippines.
*************************************************************************
NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E
Activity for March: 1 moderate tropical storm
2 intense tropical cyclones
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
Southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are the warnings issued by
the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on La Reunion Island, part of
Meteo France (MFR), and the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
for the basin. However, tropical cyclones in this region are named
by the Sub-regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres in Mauritius and
Madagascar with longitude 55E being the demarcation line between their
respective areas of naming responsibility. The La Reunion centre only
advises these agencies regarding the intensity of tropical systems.
References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless
otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from MFR's coordinates by usually
40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the
1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the
tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of
satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.
Southwest Indian Ocean Tropical Activity for March
--------------------------------------------------
March was an active month in the Southwest Indian basin with three
named systems, two of which were intense tropical cyclones (10-min avg
MSW >= 90 kts--essentially equivalent to a Saffir/Simpson Category 3).
Intense Tropical Cyclone Jokwe followed a long trajectory from well
northeast of Mauritius westward across the northern tip of Madagascar
to a rendezvous with the coast of Mozambique. After brushing the coast-
line, Jokwe turned southward and spent several more days cruising down
the Mozambique Channel. Kamba was another intense tropical cyclone but
remained in the eastern portion of the basin far from any islands.
Tropical Storm Lola was a short-lived minimal tropical storm which moved
westward to the north of Mauritius late in the month. Reports on all
three systems follow.
INTENSE TROPICAL CYCLONE JOKWE
(MFR-12 / TC-22S)
4 - 15 March
--------------------------------------------------
Jokwe: name contributed by Botswana
The first of two intense tropical cyclones to form in March and the
third of the season in the Southwest Indian basin, Jokwe followed a
long trajectory from a few hundred miles west of Diego Garcia, across
the northern tip of Madagascar, thence across the Mozambique Channel to
scrape the coast of Mozambique, and finally slowly moving down the
central Channel where it eventually stalled and dissipated. Jokwe was
a moderate tropical storm when it crossed northern Madagascar and was
responsible for relatively minor damage. However, it struck Mozambique
as an intense tropical cyclone and left behind at least 16 direct
fatalities and damage estimated at greater than $8 million (USD). The
peak estimated intensity of 105 kts (10-min avg) with a CP of 930 mb
occurred just off the coast of Mozambique.
One very interesting aspect of Tropical Cyclone Jokwe was that it
reached tropical cyclone (i.e., hurricane) intensity four times,
weakening to severe tropical storm status in between. This may be a
new record for the Southwest Indian Ocean for the number of distinct
times a tropical storm has been upgraded to cyclone status. Of course
some of these upgradings are subject to disappear in the final Best
Track due to adjustments made during the post-storm review process.
Following is a brief synopsis of Jokwe's ups and downs in intensity:
(1) First upgraded to 65 kts at 06/1200 UTC, up from 40 kts only six
hours earlier!
(2) Weakened to 60 kts at 07/0000 UTC, but re-upgraded to 65 kts at
07/1200 UTC. Reached peak intensity of 105 kts at 08/0000 UTC.
(3) Weakened back to TS status at 09/0600 UTC due to land interaction,
but regained 65 kts at 09/1800 UTC after moving back over Channel.
Reached secondary peak of 90 kts at 11/0000 UTC.
(4) Weakened back to TS status at 12/0000 UTC, but briefly regained
65 kts at 13/0600 UTC before weakening for the final time.
All this is based on MFR's official 10-min avg intensity estimates.
Following JTWC's 1-min avg MSW history, Jokwe reached hurricane intensity
only two times. JTWC's peak intensity of 100 kts is significantly less
than MFR's equivalent 1-min avg peak of 120 kts. However, somewhat
surprisingly, for much of Jokwe's history JTWC's intensity estimates
run higher than MFR's. Dr. Karl Hoarau states that he completely agrees
with MFR's peak intensity for Tropical Cyclone Jokwe.
The very detailed Wikipedia report on Jokwe may be found at the
following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Jokwe>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
INTENSE TROPICAL CYCLONE KAMBA
(MFR-13 / TC-23S)
7 - 12 March
--------------------------------------------------
Kamba: name contributed by the Comoros
The second intense tropical cyclone to form in early March, Tropical
Cyclone Kamba's entire life cycle occurred while Tropical Cyclone Jokwe
was operating farther to the west. Kamba formed in the extreme eastern
portion of the Southwest Indian basin (just west of 90E), and followed
a generally west-southwesterly track for several days, eventually
curving to the south. The initial disturbance tracked westward from
BoM Perth's AOR in early March. MFR issued the first bulletin on
Tropical Disturbance 13 at 0000 UTC 7 March, locating the center with
25-kt maximum winds about 500 nm west of the Cocos Islands. The system
was upgraded to a 30-kt tropical depression at 07/1200 UTC as it
continued to increase in organization--at the same hour JTWC issued their
first warning on TC-23S (40-kt 1-min avg MSW). The depression was
relocated back farther to the east at 1800 UTC, but the west-
southwesterly motion continued. MFR retained the winds at 30 kts for
the next 24 hours, but JTWC upped their 1-min avg MSW estimate to 55 kts
at 08/0000 UTC.
Tropical Storm Kamba with 35-kt winds was christened at 0000 UTC on
9 March while centered approximately 725 nm slightly south of due west
of the Cocos Islands. By this time JTWC's MSW had reached 60 kts (1-min
avg). Kamba intensified rather slowly for the next 30 hours, but on
10 March the cyclone underwent a rapid intensification episode with the
winds increasing from 65 to 100 kts in twelve hours. The peak intensity
of 100 kts (per MFR) with a CP of 930 mb was reached at 10/1800 UTC with
Kamba centered about 800 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia. JTWC's peak
1-min avg MSW of 110 kts occurred at 10/1200 UTC, but that agency did not
issue a warning at the time of MFR's peak intensity. Shortly before
the rapid intensification began, Tropical Cyclone Kamba's track had
turned to the south. This carried the cyclone into a more hostile
environment and it weakened almost as rapidly at it had intensified.
The intensity dropped from 95 kts at 11/0600 UTC to 55 kts eighteen hours
later at 12/0000 UTC, and JTWC issued their final warning on Kamba at the
latter hour. At 12/1200 UTC Kamba had become extratropical and MFR
issued the final bulletin, placing the center near 25.6S/80.3E, or about
1200 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia. Maximum central winds were
estimated to be around 25-30 kts, but gales were occurring up to 300 nm
from the center in the southern semicircle.
NOTE: In their JMV file, JTWC lists the MSW for 10/1800 UTC (the time of
MFR's peak) at 95 kts. MFR's peak 10-min avg wind of 100 kts equates to
a 1-min avg MSW of 115 kts. Dr. Karl Hoarau states that he agrees with
MFR on Kamba's intensity with Dvorak CI numbers running around T6.0 from
1600-1700 UTC.
No reports of casualties or damage are known to have resulted from
Tropical Cyclone Kamba.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
MODERATE TROPICAL STORM LOLA
(MFR-14 / TC-25S)
20 - 26 March
------------------------------------------------
Lola: name contributed by Madagascar
MFR initiated bulletins on weak Tropical Disturbance 14 at 1200 UTC
on 20 March with the center located approximately 465 nm northeast of
Mauritius. Maximum central winds were estimated at only 15 kts, but
winds of 25-30 kts were occurring well to the south of the center.
By 21/1800 UTC the disturbance had moved westward to a point about
300 nm north-northeast of Mauritius. MFR upgraded the system to a 30-kt
tropical depression, while JTWC issued their first warning on TC-25S.
The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Lola six hours later when
located about 275 nm north-northeast of Mauritius. Lola was a poorly-
organized tropical storm with gales occurring only in the southern
quadrants and at some distance from the center. The system remained
classified as a minimal tropical storm for only eighteen hours--at
22/1800 UTC MFR downgraded Lola back to tropical depression status with
the center having moved to a point about 260 nm due north of Mauritius.
However, JTWC assigned their peak intensity of 45 kts (1-min avg) at
this time.
The ex-Lola system continued to meander westward for several days
following its brief flirtation with tropical storm intensity. MFR
lowered the intensity to 25 kts at 23/1200 UTC, but warnings indicated
that 30-kt winds were occurring at a distance from the center in the
southern semicircle. JTWC maintained TC-25S at tropical storm intensity
through 24/0600 UTC, at which time it was downgraded to 30-kts and the
final warning issued. MFR issued their final warning at 26/1200 UTC,
indicating that in the area between Mauritius, St. Brandon and Tromelin
winds were very locally reaching 30 kts under areas of strong convection.
The latest visible imagery had revealed a very ill-defined system with
multiple LLCCs evident near 16.3S/57.3E, another near 17.7S/56.5E, and
a third possibly located near 18.3S/58.9E. Neither of these was
specified in the actual warning, but I selected the second one (about
160 nm north-northwest of Mauritius) for inclusion in the tabular track
as it was nearest to the previous warning position.
No reports of damage or casualties resulting from Tropical Storm Lola
have been received.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E
Activity for March: 1 tropical cyclone
1 severe tropical cyclone
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are
the warnings and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning
Centres at Perth, Western Australia, and Darwin, Northern Territory.
References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period
unless otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor-
dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the
source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included
in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of
satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.
Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean
Tropical Activity for March
------------------------------------------
Two tropical cyclones graced waters off northwestern Australia during
the month of March. Tropical Cyclone Ophelia formed just off the
Kimberley coast on the first day of the month from a tropical LOW which
had formed over the Northern Territory and drifted westward. Ophelia
moved westward for several days and strengthened to Category 2 status
before turning southward and weakening. Severe Tropical Cyclone Pancho
formed near Christmas Island and moved on a general southeasterly track
toward Western Australia, reaching Category 4 intensity along the way,
but weakened as it approached the continent. Short reports on these two
cyclones follow.
TROPICAL CYCLONE OPHELIA
(TC-21S)
27 February - 7 March
--------------------------------------------
A tropical LOW was noted overland in the Northern Territory on
27 February. The system remained quasi-stationary for a day or so,
then began to drift slowly westward. It moved out over the Timor Sea
early on 1 March where it began to quickly intensify. BoM Perth named
the system Tropical Cyclone Ophelia at 1200 UTC while located about 45 nm
north of Cape Leveque. Ophelia moved generally westward over the next
few days and intensified into a Category 2 (Australian Scale) cyclone
on the 2nd, reaching a peak intensity of 60 kts near 18.3S/119.2E at
02/1800 UTC. At the same time JTWC assigned their peak 1-min avg MSW
of 65 kts. The cyclone weakened slightly, then maintained an intensity
of 50-55 kts for the next three days before weakening. Ophelia turned
to the southwest on 4 March and to the south-southwest the next day.
JTWC issued their final warning on the weakening cyclone at 06/1800 UTC,
and BoM Perth downgraded Ophelia to a tropical LOW and issued their
final warning six hours later with the center well west of Carnarvon.
No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Tropical
Cyclone Ophelia.
A report on the cyclone, along with a track graphic, is available
at the following URL:
http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/sevwx/wa/watc20080225.shtml>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE PANCHO
(TC-26S)
24 - 30 March
--------------------------------------------------
Severe Tropical Cyclone Pancho formed to the west-southwest of
Christmas Island and tracked toward the south-southeast toward Western
Australia, but weakened and dissipated well offshore. BoM Perth
initiated gale warnings on the developing LOW at 0200 UTC 24 March,
and JTWC issued their first warning on TC-26S at 24/1200 UTC. The
system had reached tropical cyclone intensity by 25/0600 UTC and was
assigned the name Pancho. The cyclone intensified steadily, reaching
its peak intensity of 90 kts (CP of 938 mb) at 27/0000 UTC while
centered near 19.0S/105.9E, or several hundred miles to the west-
northwest of Exmouth. This ranks Pancho as a Category 4 cyclone on
the Australian Scale. JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW of 95 kts agrees well
with Perth's assessment. Soon afterward, however, Pancho encountered
increasing vertical shear and cooler SSTs, so weakening was fairly
rapid. The cyclone was downgraded to a LOW on 29 March about 135 nm
west-southwest of Carnarvon.
Pancho brought no strong winds to the coast of Western Australia,
but it was associated with heavy rainfall in the west Pilbara and
Gascoyne with a 24-hour total of 157 mm at Minderoo, ending at 9:00 AM
(local) on the 27th. The remnants of the former cyclone passed near
Perth on the 31st, resulting in unseasonably heavy rains across the
southwestern portion of Western Australia.
A report on Severe Tropical Cyclone Pancho, along with a track
graphic, may be accessed at the following URL:
http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/sevwx/wa/watc20080323.shtml>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E
Activity for March: 1 tropical depression **
** - classified as a minimal tropical storm by JTWC
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
South Pacific tropical cyclones are the warnings and advisories
issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Nadi, Fiji (for
waters north of latitude 25S), and Wellington, New Zealand (for
waters south of latitude 25S). References to sustained winds imply
a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Southern Hemisphere
centres' coordinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings
are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind
values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information
describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation
features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC
warnings.
South Pacific Tropical Activity for March
-----------------------------------------
As was the case with February, no named tropical cyclones formed over
South Pacific waters east of 160E during March. One system was
identified as a tropical depression by RSMC Nadi, and was briefly
classified as a minimal tropical storm by JTWC. A short report on
Tropical Depression 14F/Tropical Cyclone 24P follows.
TROPICAL DEPRESSION
(TD-14F / TC-24P)
19 - 23 March
---------------------------------------
An area of disturbed weather west of the Republic of Vanuatu had
acquired enough organization by late on 19 March that RSMC Nadi
designated it as Tropical Disturbance 14. The poorly-defined center
was located about 275 nm west of Port Vila at 19/2100 UTC. A few hours
later Nadi classified it as a tropical depression. JTWC issued their
first warning on TC-24P at 20/1800 UTC with the 35-kt center located
about 250 nm west-southwest of Port Vila. The system was moving
southwestward in the general direction of New Caledonia, but ran into
an unfavorable environment of moderate to high vertical shear. It
began to weaken and JTWC issued their final warning at 21/1800 UTC
with the center about 135 nm east-northeast of Noumea, New Caledonia.
The remnant LOW curved back to the west-southwest and Nadi issued their
final bulletin at 23/2100 UTC with the center located approximately
250 nm west of Noumea.
RSMC Nadi's highest 10-min avg wind estimate for TD-14F was 30 kts,
and JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW was 35 kts. Dvorak intensity estimates
from JTWC, CPHC and Brisbane all reached T2.5/2.5 for this system,
while the highest rendered by SAB was T2.0/2.0. So TC-24P was likely
a brief, minimal tropical storm based on a 1-min avg MSW criterion.
No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from this system.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION
The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and
varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers
will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't,
I wanted to include them.
(1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information
---------------------------------------
Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be
retrieved from the following FTP site:
ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/>
Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance
messages may be found at the following URL:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml>
Links are also included to websites with further information about the
U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air-
craft Operations Center.
(2) Archived Advisories
-----------------------
All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories,
strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC
are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an
example), the archived products can be found at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/index.shtml>
Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at
the following URL:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml>
JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterrey website:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen.
I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all
its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but
if I learn of any, I will add them to this list.
(3) Satellite Imagery
---------------------
Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are
available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites,
courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The
links are:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html>
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is
located in the lower left portion of the screen.
Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for
composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the
equator, can be found at:
(1) For the Eastern North Pacific:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html>
(2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html>
(4) Cyclone Tracking Information
--------------------------------
There is a U. S. Navy site that tracks tropical cyclones at 6-hourly
intervals which often includes pre and post-advisory positions. The
link to the site is:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/atcf_web/doc_archives/>
Steve Young has compiled many of these tracks onto a single webpage
which is very user-friendly:
http://home.earthlink.net/~shy9/tc1.htm>
I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and
as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list.
*************************************************************************
EXTRA FEATURE
In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative
material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and
acronyms. I have tried to define most of these with the first usage
in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then. Most of
these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a
few aren't clear to some. To remedy this I developed a Glossary of
Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998
summary. I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in
order to help keep them from being too long. If anyone would like to
receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy
to send them a copy.
*************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary
overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone
tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational
warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The
information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and
intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based
on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information
on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning
centers will be passed along from time to time.
The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved
from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail
distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive
these via e-mail, please send me a message.)
Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files
created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as
Notepad or DOS editor to view the files.
The first summary in this series covered the month of October,
1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites
(courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, and
Chris Landsea):
http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/>
http://www.typhoon2000.ph>
http://mpittweather.com>
ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/>
Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may
be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site
contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones
globally on a monthly basis. The URL is:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone>
TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE
JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone
Report (ATCR) for 2006 (2005-2006 season for the Southern Hemisphere).
ATCRs for earlier years are available also.
The URL is: http://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php>
Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor"
tracking charts for the 2007 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific
tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2007 Atlantic
and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as
track charts and reports on storms from earlier years.
The URL is: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov>
A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales,
Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries.
PREPARED BY
Gary Padgett
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 334-222-5327
Kevin Boyle (Northwest Pacific)
E-mail: [email protected]
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